Biggles Hunts Big Game/plot
Chapter 1: Biggles States the Case A powerful international gang has been producing large quantities of near-perfect forgeries of the postage stamps and bank notes of various countries. The British government is convinced there is a master criminal directing the operations. Air Commodore Raymond believes the gang must be using aircraft and has passed the case to Biggles and his Air Police. Chapter 2: The Velvet Glove Biggles has hardly finished briefing his crew at their Mount Street flat when one John Robinson calls. He claims to represent a wealthy business concern and offers Biggles a job as an aviation consultant with a very high salary. When Biggles declines, he offers Biggles a cigar and then leaves. Biggles carefully cuts open the cigar and finds a tube of explosive.. Obviously Robinson represents the powerful gang he is after. Somehow their intelligence is so good they know Biggles has been assigned the case already and have moved quickly to buy him off and if that failed, to try to kill him. Chapter 3: Tug Taxis In Across the street a newpaper seller has set up a surveillance post. The Air Police crew needs to evade the gang. Biggles seeks the help of their former squadron mate Tug Carrington, now back to being a prize fighter and a part time taxi driver. Tug handily disposes of the newspaper man by picking a fight and then drives Biggles and co. to the RAF station at Delmar where they set up their operational headquarters. Tug had picked up a surveillance camera dropped by the newspaper man. The box he was sitting on at his stall turns out to contain a radio. Chapter 4: Stellar Skyways Incorporated Biggles' suspicions narrow on a recently formed air charter company, Stellar Skyways. Besides passenger flights, it also owned a luxury hotel at Kudinga in East Africa and organised luxury big game hunting tours there for the well-heeled. The company appeared to be carrying on although, as Biggles points out, it should really have gone out of business for want of customers. Biggles asks Tug to advertise himself as a pilot seeking employment and hope to be picked up by the company. Meanwhile, Bertie and Ginger are to sign on to the "Hunters' Tour". Chapter 5: Hunters' Tour Bertie and Ginger fly to Cairo and join the tour as planned, posing as two Indian Army officers on leave. Boarding the company aircraft, they notice that Robinson is among their fellow passengers! A 6 hour flight takes them to Kudinga where they are greeted by Mr Kreeze, the hotel manager. Kreeze briefs the newly arrived guests, emphasizing that they are not to venture out of the hotel fence without a guide and that the area around the power-plant, set in a bamboo swamp, is out of bounds. Unpacking in their room, Ginger discovers that one of their suitcases is empty. They had brought along a portable transmitter and it is gone! They complain to Kreeze, explaining that the radio is an army regulation. Kreeze makes a show of apologising and promises to investigate, but Bertie and Ginger know that they would closely watched from here on, Chapter 6: Reconnaissance Bertie and Ginger reconnoitre the hotel grounds and see unusual features. Two native staff actually speak with slangy American acents. Then Robinson is seen walking towards the power plant with Dr Dorov, a hotel guest who claims to be an ornithologist. Back at the hotel, Colonel Dupray, another hotel guest, tells them that Kreeze had asked him if there was an Indian Army requirement for officers on leave to carry radios. Dupray had told him authoritatively that this was nonsense. With their cover all but blown, Bertie and Ginger know they can expect trouble soon. Chapter 7: Ginger Climbs a Tree Bertie and Ginger keep up their cover and embark on a hunt with Kisumo, their assigned guide. Noting that their beat takes them near the power plant, Ginger fakes a sprained ankle. Bertie, who catches Ginger's wink, plays along and goes on alone with Kisumo, leaving Ginger behind to rest. Ginger goes through the bamboo swamp and climbs a tree to observe the power plant. It's strange. It consists of two buildings, one of which stood on pontoons over a lake. Then Dr Dorov turns up again and hands something that looks like a photographic plate to a mechanic who has ink on his fingers. Ginger is happy with the results of his sortie but soon finds that he is trapped! There is an old bull at the foot of the tree. Chapter 8: Death in the Forest Bertie and Kisumo, back from their hunt, fail to find Ginger and return to the Lodge. But there's worse to come. Bertie is summoned, and he goes to Kreeze's office and finds Tug Carrington there! Kreeze shows Bertie photos of the Air Police crew outside Scotland Yard. Their cover is now totally blown and Kreeze accuses him of deception and warns him not to try to leave--it would be a long walk. Kreeze then suggests that he take Kisumo and search for Ginger. Bertie is surprised that Kreeze would allow him to walk freely outside the lodge but all is soon explained. Once in the forest, Kisumo tells Bertie he is to be executed and lifts his rifle. Bertie tries to jump aside but slips and falls on his back. He hears a shot. Is this the end? Chapter 9: Tug Finds a Job The explanation for Tug's presence with Kreeze is explained in this chapter. As instructed, he had advertised for a job and been recruited into Stellar Skyways by two men, one Mr Black and a pilot named Ivan. Chapter 10: Melancholy News Tug flies to Cairo with Ivan carrying an urgent package for Kreeze. At Cairo, Ivan is called away and asks Tug to carry on to Kudinga alone. Tug delivers the package. He is asked to leave the room before Kreeze confronts Bertie but is sure Bertie is in trouble. Later he hears three shots from the forest. Kreeze is also puzzled. "One should have been enough." When Kisumo doesn't come back, Kreeze and Robinson decide to go take a look. Tug follows along. In the forest, they find the body of Kisumo, badly mauled by a buffalo which lies dead nearby. A little further Tug sees Bertie lying on his back. Kreeze concludes that they had been attacked and killed by the buffalo. He leaves a few natives to guard the body and returns to the lodge where he passes Tug a report which he is to take to Cairo. Tug completes the errand and is accosted by person in an Egyptian native burnous outside the comany office. It is Biggles! He tells Tug to meet at Constantino's Restaurant, where he and Algy were lodging. Chapter 11: Ginger Climbs Down The story rewinds to Bertie. He had slipped and fallen and heard a shot but it didn't hit him! Lying still, Bertie saw Kisumo look away. A raging bull appears and charges at the African. He fires two shots and turns to flee but can't escape the bull's horns and is gored to death. Ginger now shows up and explains. He had climbed down the tree thinking the bull had gone away but found that it had been waiting for him a short distance away. So Ginger had no choice but to grab his rifle and fire a shot at it, which had the effect of causing it to stampede towards Kisumo. Bertie and Ginger know that Kreeze and the others will come to investigate soon. Ginger tells Bertie lie down near the scene of the killings and play dead himself. This succeeds in persuading Kreeze that both Bertie and Kisumo had been killed. After Kreeze leaves, Ginger imitates the roar of a lion and scares away the guards left behind to guard the bodies. Bertie and Ginger then decide to go to the lodge and try to make contact with Tug but they get there just in time to hear his aircraft depart for Cairo. Chapter 12: Biggles Takes a Turn At Constantino's, Tug gives Biggles and Algy the news about Bertie's death. Biggles decides he must take a look inside the Stellar Skyways office at the airport for hard evidence before making the next move. Chapter 13: A Thief to Catch a Thief He and Algy make their way to the police headquarters. Major Grattan loans them a master housebreaker in his custody, Abdullah ibn Abu. He helps open the locks of the Stellar office. Inside, Biggles finds a cupboard full of hunting trophies such as what Tug said he had brought over from Kudinga. The trophies are all addressed to Stellar customers, many of them prominent people. The trophies are stuffed with forged banknotes! Biggles pens a detailed report for Raymond and asks Algy to depart immediately for London. Meanwhile he plans to get ot Kudinga. Chapter 14: Events at Kudinga With Tug gone, Bertie and Ginger decide to spend the night in the power plant building. They get in by smashing a window and discover an elaborate printing press and forged banknotes inside. Exhausted, they go to sleep. When they awake, it is already noon the next day. They feel the building move. The windows have all been sealed with steel shutters and the whole structure is sinking! That explained the pontoons. The printing press could be submerged in the lake to hide it. Bertie decides to shoot their way out. Chapter 15: Biggles Takes Charge Tug is instructed to fly one "Mr White" (in reality the boss, the master criminal Kravas) from Cairo to Kudinga. Biggles stows away in the baggage compartment. At Kudinga, Tug accompanies White to see Kreeze. A printing mechanic, George, tells Kreeze and White that he had been trying to sink the printing shop as instructed but had heard gunshots and so halted the process. Ginger must be inside! Tug hurries away to where Biggles is still hiding, in the aircraft hangar and gives him the news. They decide to make a dash for the power plant/printing shop before Kreeze and the others get there. Chapter 16: A Tight Corner Biggles and Tug join Ginger and Bertie at the power plant. But teir ammunition is limited and White and a large force of his men are approaching from the lodge. Ginger tells him about a hole in the fence of the power plant caused by a fallen tree. so Biggles decides to head that way and attempt to reach the lodge and make for the aircraft through the forest. They almost make it to the hangar but are cut off by a force of men lead by Dr Dorov. Kreeze and White also arrive and a tense stand off ensues. However two Bristol Bombays appear overhead. The sight of the R.A.F. markings causes many of White's men to flee. The Bombays land. Major Grattan emerges with a force of Egyptian police. Chapter 17: Buttoned Up Most of the senior gang members at Kudinga are caught. Biggles joins Grattan in seeking out White who has hidden in the bamboo forest. White calls to Biggles and tries to bribe his way out but his pleas are cut off when he is bitten and killed by a puff adder. Back in Cairo, Biggles finds that Raymond has arrived to lead the mopping up of the gang operation. It is still winter in London, so Biggles and his Air Police crew decide to take it easy in Egypt for a few days. Category:Plot summaries